Robert April
'''Robert April' was a prominent 23rd century Starfleet officer who was perhaps most famous for his stint as the first captain of the . ( ) He was considered to be one of the most decorated captains in Starfleet history as of the mid-23rd century. ( ) Early life April was born in 2195, joined Starfleet and later married his chief medical officer Sarah. ( ) Starfleet career During the 2240s, April oversaw the construction of components for a starship at the San Francisco Naval Yards. That vessel eventually became the USS Enterprise, which April later commanded from 2245 to 2250; his wife Sarah served as his chief medical officer. ( ) Later career Following the end of his five-year mission in 2250, April was promoted to commodore and became a respected Federation ambassador-at-large. ( ) By 2256, April was considered one of Starfleet's most decorated captains, listed among other legends such as Jonathan Archer, Matt Decker, Philippa Georgiou, and Christopher Pike. ( ) Over a dozen years later, in 2270, April was forced to retire from Starfleet. Exceptional circumstances made Starfleet consider his appeal to have his mandatory retirement rescinded. ( ) Memorable quotes "No matter where I've traveled in the galaxy, Jim, this bridge is more like home than anywhere else." "Yes, commodore, I know the feeling." "To me, she was always like my child. I was there in the San Francisco Navy Yards when her unit components were built." : - Robert April reminisces about the Enterprise with Kirk ( ) "Captain Kirk, the Capellan flower." "I'm sure Captain Kirk has other problems besides your flower, dear." "You don't understand. Before we entered this universe, it was about to die, and-and now it's in full bloom again." "How is that possible?" "It's as if it were growing younger again. I-I can almost feel it while I-I'm holding it." : - Sarah April, Robert April, and Kirk ( ) "In her universe, a nova is a dead star which comes to life. And when the explosions of a nova in her universe and one in our universe occur together, it's possible to travel between the two universes." "Then we must return the same way, through the two novas." : - Robert April and Kirk ( ) "What a blessing to be able to live one's life over again, if the life you've led has left you unfulfilled. No, Sarah, I don't want to live it all over again; I couldn't improve one bit on what we've had together." : - Robert April to his wife, Sarah ( ) Appendices Appearances * (First appearance) References * Background information as April]] The name "Robert April" originates from the first Star Trek pitch, as the name of the lead character ("Robert M. April"). On StarTrek.com and in the , his name is listed as "Robert T. April". Prior to this, the name "Robert April" was used by Gene Roddenberry for a prison chaplain in two episodes of . The name for the featured Enterprise captain was later changed to "Christopher Pike" for and then to "James T. Kirk" for later episodes. The Star Trek Encyclopedia uses a photo of Gene Roddenberry in an early-style uniform to illustrate its entry on April, as does the Star Trek Chronology for its entry on 2245. When "The Counter-Clock Incident" writer Fred Bronson first heard about the prequel premise of , he mistakenly assumed, much to his excitement, that April would be prominently featured in the upcoming series. He was later disappointed to discover this was not the case. Added ENT Co-Executive Producer Chris Black, "I was not the uber-fan that would have said, 'Wait, it should have been Robert April. " (The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, p. 646) Unused material for Jonathan Archer's bio, featured in , stated that Archer passed away one day following the christening of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), in 2245. If canonical, it would suggest that April and Archer knew each other. Roberto Orci once revealed he had considered a rogue April as a villain in . Apocrypha In the books and Best Destiny, both written by Diane Carey, it was stated that Captain April was born in Coventry, UK. In addition, it was stated that James Kirk's father, George Kirk, was the first officer of the Enterprise during April's captaincy. In developing April for Final Frontier, having only the Animated Series episode as a basis, Carey decided to give him "a warm, funny, visionary personality, and made him a gentle and wise counterpoint to the very volatile and action-oriented George Kirk. The idea is that somehow James Kirk is the composite of the better qualities of both April and George Kirk, the visionary wisdom with the proactive reactionary hero." ( ) In the book Crisis on Vulcan, written by Brad and Barbara Strickland, Christopher Pike is April's first officer. In the Star Trek: Early Voyages comic series, April made several appearances and was often referenced. The first issue, "Flesh of My Flesh", established that April commanded a USS Tiberius for three five-year missions prior to commanding the Enterprise on his fourth five-year mission and that J.M. Colt and José Tyler served under April on the Tiberius. In the same comic, April walked Christopher Pike to the Enterprise in spacedock, and in another scene, set two years later, it was shown that it was due to April's recommendation that Pike recruited Spock to the Enterprise crew. The fourth issue, "Nor Iron Bars a Cage", stated that April, then a commodore at Starfleet Command, personally reassigned J.M. Colt to the Enterprise to take up her position as yeoman. In the final story in the Early Voyages series, presented in the comics " " and "Thanatos", April, then an admiral, returned to the Enterprise to temporarily take command while Captain Pike conducted an undercover mission. April displayed questionable conduct in the story, but the tale was never concluded, as the series was canceled. The alternate reality version of appears in the IDW comic mini-series Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness. In the new timeline, he was captain of a previous , which existed subsequent to , but prior to the launched in 2258. While surveying Phaedus IV in 2239, he was declared killed in action, when in reality, he deliberately went against the Prime Directive to assist the planet's inhabitants in an ongoing rebellion until he was discovered by Captain and twenty years later. Additionally, April recalled he had been captain "going on 10 years" in 2239, suggesting his prime reality counterpart would have also achieved the rank of captain in or around 2229, as this occurred before the creation of the alternate reality. April later reappeared in the twentieth issue of IDW's Star Trek: Ongoing comic series, in which Captain Kirk visited April to let him know that his plan to start a war with the Klingon Empire had failed. Federation: The First 150 Years depicts April as the principal designer of the , having grown dissatisfied with current Starfleet vessels' lack of self-sufficiency. External links * * * de:Robert April es:Robert April fr:Robert April nl:Robert April Category:Humans Category:Starfleet command personnel Category:Starfleet captains Category:Starfleet flag officers Category:USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel Category:Ambassadors